Condos

Training the next generation of construction talent

High schools team with builders to teach students construction trade

South Carleton High School students are building a 2,000 square foot Tamarack Home on Denali Way in Stittsville, under the supervision of home-building teacher Mike Nesbitt, shown here.

Photograph by: Pat McGrath
, The Ottawa Citizen

When it gets so cold outside that a thick layer of ice forms on the heavy wooden beams of a home under construction, the South Carleton students building it will hide in the basement and ­huddle around the portable heater.

They'll laugh, chat and explain to their teacher, Mike Nesbitt, a little bit more about who's who in teen culture. However, once circulation has returned to their fingers, Nesbitt shoos them out.

They have a lot of work left to do. That house in Stittsville isn't going to build itself.

"We just deal with it," Nesbitt says. "In reality, construction goes 12 months a year in Ottawa. So you have to get used to it if you want to follow in that trade."

South Carleton High School is just one of many schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board that offers the House Building Focus Program, an alternative course that lets grade 11 and 12 students get hands-on experience in construction.

"(The program) allows students to experience schooling in ways that broaden beyond the average schooling experience and . . . it builds on both technical skills and adaptive skills," says Pino Buffone, superintendent of curriculum at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

Nesbitt, 49, agrees. He's both teacher and boss to the students. He runs them like any other construction crew, but tries to keep the work fun and light. Since he became involved with the program four years ago, he has seen first-hand the positive effect that building houses has on his students.

"There are kids from every walk of life — some that will head to college, some that are working on apprenticeships and some that never did do well in the classroom. That's where the success of this program comes from.

"There is a good mix of kids from different academic backgrounds and they all seem to enjoy it."

Through the program, one house is built every semester with the help of local builders such as Tamarack Homes and Minto Group. Mattamy Homes, Braebury Homes and Phoenix Homes also take part. They provide the raw materials and foundation. It's their way of giving back to the community. As a bonus, the builders hope the experience the students gain will attract new blood into a trade facing a labour shortage.

This particular house has been on the go since October with 12 students working on it. Across the region there are four house-building classes with 60 students taking part.

The students in Stittsville build off a pre-installed foundation. Then they lay down the floor, build the walls, put on the roof joists and basically make sure everything is "squared up." Then Tamarack's pros come in to install plumbing and electricity and make sure the home is to code. Once finished, it will be sold on the market alongside other neighbourhood homes.

Since the program started in 2004, about 60 homes have been built in Ottawa.

"It makes me feel able to do more with myself that I thought I was able to do," says student Ian Meredith, 18. "Knowing that I can actually build a house that people will live in makes me feel really good."

He also worked in construction over the summer and feels comfortable amid the hammering and whirring buzz of saws. Bantering with friends as they haul tools throughout the house, he's joined by 17-year-old Riley Mullins. Both of them plan to continue on to college and work in the trades.

"They are a good bunch, some of them can be a bit lazy at times, but other than that, they all work hard," Mullins says. "It's a different experience. You are always doing something new every time you come to the site. You are not sitting in a class room eight hours a day. I prefer doing stuff and always being involved instead of sitting behind a desk."

Though they are unpaid, the students are treated as professionals and must stick to regulations and standards.

"They prepare the site, they review the plans, they co-ordinate and complete the next phase of a task and then recap, debrief," Buffone says.

Before they even set foot on site, they have to spend three weeks studying blueprints and guides, learning how to install insulation, drywall and framing and how to lay a foundation. Most of all, they focus on safety training.

They will be dropped from the program if they don't comply, but that rarely happens, Nesbitt says. Those in the program are engaged and committed, as evidenced by the 97-per-cent completion rate last semester, compared to about 80 per cent for traditional high-school programs.

"It provides wonderful opportunities for hands-on skills and it also builds adaptive skills, co-operation, teamwork, perseverance, resiliency, that you can transfer to other situations," Buffone says. "It really helps students stay engaged."

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